Today in the history of astronomy, an eclipse isn’t the only stunning thing in the sky.
The eclipse of July 19, 418, was the first known record of a comet being seen during a total eclipse. Credit: NASA/Gopalswamy
- A total solar eclipse occurred on July 19, 418 C.E.
- A mysterious light, possibly a comet, was seen during this eclipse.
- Reports from Europe and China confirm the comet sighting.
- This event is the first recorded instance of a comet during a total solar eclipse.
July 19, 418 C.E., marks the first total solar eclipse (of which we have a record) during which a comet was seen. Turkish-born Church historian Philostorgius wrote in Book XII of the Epitome Historiae Ecclesiasticae: “When Theodosius had reached adolescence, on the nineteenth of July at about the eighth hour, the sun was so completely eclipsed that stars appeared. There appeared in the sky with the sun while in eclipse a cone-shaped light, which some out of ignorance called a comet. But it showed none of the features of a comet. For the light did not form a tail, nor was it at all like a star; rather, it resembled a great lamp-flame appearing on its own, with no star under it to form a wick for it. Its movement was also different. It began where the sun rises at the equinox, from there passed over the last star in the Bear’s tail, and went on slowly westward.” Clearly, Philostorgius did not believe the object was a comet. Many reports from Europe and China, however, prove that it was, so the event goes down as the first reports of a comet seen during the total phase of a solar eclipse.